Roger
Federer will always be a part of Halle, Germany after the home of the
Gerry Weber Open grass-court event officially dedicated a street leading
to the stadium in his honor.

"Now I
will practically always be here," said the five-time winner of the
pre-Wimbledon event which - unlike its ATP rival this week at Queen's
club London, has for years boasted a moveable roof to prevent washouts
from bad weather.

Federer, who holds the record of 16 Grand Slam titles, called the
municipal gesture "an unbelievably big honor that now a street in
Germany is named after me."

The
Swiss had been pictured on a postage stamp in both Switzerland and
Austria, but the Germany honor is the first of its kind for him, "The
Germans were really a step ahead of the Swiss," he admitted. The
dedication was made at the exact time of the first match at the
inaugural edition of the tournament 20 years ago.

Federer
has a lifetime contract with the tournament until the end of his career.
He won the last of his quintet of titles in 2008.

Tournament director Ralf Weber called the Swiss "a great ambassador for
the tournament and a "fan favorite. The people here simply love Roger,
his natural manner and his confident demeanor. We are happy that we
could name this street after him." The street name award was approved by
the city on May.